"A good company builds one product, learns from its customers, and iterates to make that product exceptional. Each step in the process is designed to refine a product and find the often elusive “product/market fit” that is the basis for all successful startups. Imagine if Apple built the first app-free iPhone and then moved on to the Apple Watch, or GoPro only sold one version of its camera and then decided to launch something totally different."

Iterating as a hardware company, of course, isn't the easiest thing in the world. Design and production cycles are long, and you can't upgrade the physical parts on the fly. That's why so many companies never make it to a second product. Take Nest, for example, that wowed the world with its thermostat, but never followed up with anything consumers really felt the same way about.

Often times, the challenge is coming up with a first product that people like that you can deliver in a reasonable amount of time, knowing it won't have everything you could ever hope to build. The tricky part is doing that while not distracting yourself and diverting too many resources away from a product that more closely reflects your long term, ultimate goal.

goTenna Mesh is the first 100% off-grid, mobile, long-range consumer-ready mesh network device, which will be available internationally. The announcement comes along with the launch of goTenna’s premium service, goTenna Plus, and the release of the goTenna open Software Development Kit (SDK).

Unlike traditional networks, a mesh network gets stronger as more people use it. goTenna Mesh is smaller, sleeker than goTenna’s flagship product, and provides even greater utility thanks to the introduction of mesh networking. By automatically and privately relaying your message through other users if your recipient(s) are not within point-to-point range or are otherwise obstructed, you can effectively double or triple your range and be likelier to get a message through in difficult situations.

goTenna Mesh is anchored by intelligent mesh protocols (named “Aspen Grove”) that deliver a 100% off-grid, entirely mobile, long-range mesh network. Such a technology has never been achieved outside hulking military tactical systems that cost tens of thousands of dollars per unit.

Congrats to the goTenna team on a huge accomplishment for their customers. This is the product that Daniela and Jorge had in mind when they first started the company--when goTenna was just a box full of wires that sent a text across a table to another box full of wires. I'm excited to have been their first VC backer.